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whole spring and summer through from the opposite quarters. And yet, amidst all these disadvantages, two swallows, as I mentioned in my last, appeared this year as early as the eleventh of April, amidst frost and snow; but they withdrew again for a time.*

I am not pleased to find that some people seem so little satisfied with Scopoli's new publication. There is room to expect great things from the hands of that man, who is a good naturalist; and one would think that a history of the birds of so distant and southern a region as Carniola would be new and interesting. I could wish to see that work, and hope to get it sent down. Dr Scopoli is physician to the wretches that work in the quicksilver mines of that district.

When you talked of keeping a reed-sparrow, and giving it seeds, I could not help wondering; because the reed-sparrow which I mentioned to you, (passer arundinaceus minor, Raii,) is a soft-billed bird, and most probably migrates hence before winter; whereas the bird you kept (passer torquatus, Raii,) abides all the year, and is a thick-billed bird. I question whether the latter be much of a songster; but in this matter I want to be better informed. The former has a variety of hurrying notes, and sings all night. Some part of the song of the former, I suspect, is attributed to the latter. We have plenty of the soft-billed sort, which Mr Pennant had entirely left out of his British Zoology, till I reminded him of his omission. See British Zoology last published, p. 16.‡

* In 1830, the following summer birds were noticed by Mr J. D. Hoy, at Stoke Rayland, Suffolk, as appearing very early :

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This work he calls his "Annus Primus Historico-Naturalis."

See Letter XXVI. To Thomas Pennant, Esq.

Goatsucker,

14

ED.

I have somewhat to advance on the different manners in which different birds fly and walk; but as this is a subject that I have not enough considered, and is of such a nature as not to be contained in a small space, I shall say nothing farther at present.*

* See Letter LXXXIV. To the Hon. Daines Barrington.

There is much variety in the flight of birds; some fly by jerks, closing their wings every third or fourth stroke, which produces an undulatory motion, as may be observed in the flight of woodpeckers warblers, wagtails, and most other small birds; others pursue a smooth and even course; while others, again, are buoyant, without perceptible motion, as the kite, kestril, and many of the hawk tribe. The greater number of birds fly with their legs drawn up, and their neck extended; others again, from their great length of neck, and its consequent weight, are obliged to contract, or bend it in flight, for the purpose of bringing the centre of gravity on the wings, in aid of which the legs are stretched behind, as exemplified in the heron, stork, and bittern. Others fly with protruded necks, but are compelled to throw out their legs behind, as the goose, duck, and other aquatic birds.

Aquatic birds, and those termed waders, run in the ordinary manner, by alternately placing one foot before the other; but nearly all the smaller birds jump, or hop along, as if their legs were united. The crow, starling, lark, and wagtail, are regular walkers. ED.

"The flight of a strong falcon," says Dr Shaw, "is wonderfully swift. It is recorded that a falcon belonging to the Duke of Cleve, flew out of Westphalia into Prussia in one day; and in the county of Norfolk, a hawk has made a flight at a woodcock near thirty miles in an hour."

"But what are these," says Professor Rennie, "compared to the actual velocity and continuance of the falcon that is recorded to have belonged to Henry IV. King of France, which escaped from Fontainbleau, and in twenty-four hours after was killed in Malta, a space computed to be not less than one thousand three hundred and fifty miles! a velocity equal to fifty-seven miles in an hour, supposing the hawk to have been on the wing the whole time. But as such birds never fly by night, and allowing the day to be at the longest, or to be eighteen hours light, this would make seventy-five miles an hour. It is probable, however, that he neither had so many hours of light in the twenty-four to perform the journey, nor that he was retaken the moment of his arrival, so that we may fairly conclude much less time was occupied in performing this distant flight."

We do not agree with the opinion entertained by Professor Rennie, that the falcon in question did not fly by night. Although the birds of this tribe are diurnal, still there must be instances of their flying by night, as in the case above referred to. We would ask, where did he rest during the night in crossing the Mediterranean? Birds which make long migrations, must fly by night as well as by day in crossing a great extent of ocean.

Audubon says, "The passenger pigeon (columba migratoria) moves with extreme rapidity, propelling itself by repeated flaps of the wings, which it brings more or less near to the body, according to the degree of velocity which is required. Like the domestic pigeon, it often flies

No doubt the reason why the sex of birds in their first plumage is so difficult to be distinguished is, as you say, "because they are not to pair and discharge their parental functions till the ensuing spring." As colours seem to be the chief external sexual distinction in many birds, these colours do not take place till sexual attachments begin to obtain. And the case is the same in quadrupeds; among whom, in their younger days, the sexes differ but little ; but, as they advance to maturity, horns and shaggy manes, beards and brawny necks, &c. strongly discriminate the male from the female. We may instance still farther in our own species, where a beard and stronger features are usually characteristic of the male sex ; but this sexual diversity does not take place in earlier life; for a beautiful youth shall be so like a beautiful girl, that the difference shall not be discernible :

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during the love season, in a circling manner, supporting itself with both wings angularly elevated, in which position it keeps them until it is about to alight. Now and then, during these circular flights, the tips of the primary quills of each wing are made to strike against each other, producing a sharp rap, which may be heard at a distance of thirty or forty yards. Before alighting, the passenger pigeon, like the Carolina parrot, and a few other species of birds, breaks the force of its flight by repeated flappings, as if apprehensive of receiving injury from coming too suddenly into contact with the branch, or the spot of ground, on which it intends to settle."

Mr Audubon calculates that the passenger pigeon must travel at the rate of a mile in a minute, a velocity which would enable one of these birds to visit the European continent in less than three days. Ed.

* There is a remarkable physiological fact in the animal economy, that of the females of many species assuming somewhat of the character of the male when they become aged. This obtains in a strong degree in many animals, and something similar takes place in the human species; for example, that increase of hair observable in the faces of many women advanced in life, is certainly an approximation towards a beard, which is one of the most distinguishing secondary properties of man. It is also well known that old mares approach the form of the horse, in the thickening of the crest.

Dr Butter, of Plymouth, has satisfactorily proved, that our female domestic fowls have all a tendency to assume the male plumage at an advanced period of their lives, so as to make them resemble the cock of their own species. In illustration, he states, that " Mr Corham, at Compton, near Plymouth, has, for a long series of years, possessed an excellent breed of game-fowls, the cocks of which are of a beautifully dark-red colour, and the hens of a dusky brown. One hen of this

LETTER XXXVI.

TO THOMAS PENNANT, ESQ.

SELBORNE, August 1, 1770.

DEAR SIR,- The French, I think, in general, are strangely prolix in their natural history. What Linnæus says with breed was allowed to live as long as possible, because her chickens became so renowned in the cock-pit. When, however, she had attained the age of fifteen years, she was observed, after moulting, to have acquired some arched cock's feathers in her tail, whilst others (old feathers) remained straight and brown, as formerly. By degrees, and during one moulting season, the whole of her dusky plumage was thrown off, and succeeded by a covering of red, and more beautiful feathers, quite like those of the cock of her own breed. In the course of the single season, the change was so fully accomplished, that, as she walked about, any stranger might have pronounced her rather to have been a cock than a hen. Spurs, likewise, sprouted out on her legs; she acquired a comb and wattles on her head; and even crowed hoarsely, not unlike a young cock. Her wattles were, however, cut off afterwards, for the purpose of making her look like a fighting cock. After the completion of this change of plumage, she discontinued to lay eggs; and lived no very considerable time to enjoy her recently acquired, but splendid costume." This bird is now in Dr Butter's collection. This gentleman adduces other evidence of a similar change, in two old hens, kept for him by a Mrs Adams, of Bowden, near Totness, on purpose to ascertain if the change was general. One of these was fifteen years old, and the other thirteen. Of these she says, "I bought them both when pullets. They were of the common domestic breed, and excellent layers, which was the reason I kept them so long. I first observed the change on them after an absence of five months; when I inquired of my dairy-maid, From whence come these two young cocks?' for such they appeared to me in their plumage and crowing. I was greatly surprised at being informed, that they were my two old hens."

In Tucker's Ornithologia Danmoniensis, there is an account of a domestic hen, which changed her feathers to those of the cock; and Aristotle, in his Hist. Anim. lib. ix. c. 36, makes mention of a domestic hen assuming the male plumage.

When we were in Downpatrick, our friend, William Johnstone, Esq. informed us of a circumstance which, no doubt, was referable to this cause. He had succeeded to a large fortune by the will of an uncle, and among the animals which he acquired was an old cock, a favourite of the old gentleman. It was, out of respect for his memory, permitted to live until it died a natural death. Mr Johnstone shewed me the cock, which was then alive, and which he considered as a very miraculous one, having, at short intervals, laid two small eggs, not larger than those of a blackbird, and nearly circular, with very strong shells. He was quite certain that they were extruded by this supposed cock, as no other fowl could possibly get into the place where he was kept at the time. We told him we had no doubt but it was a hen, with the male plumage from age; but he was firmly of belief that it was an old cock. From circumstances of this kind have arisen, no doubt, the fable of the cockatrice.-ED.

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